California is truly a melting pot and its cuisine is influenced by a broad palate of flavors and styles. Food in California is influenced by not only the immigrants that have settled in the state (Asian, Latin American, Italian, etc.) but also from the abundance of local foods that are easily accessible. Honestly, I’m always amazed at the wide-variety of fruits and vegetables that are available on the side of the road any time of the year.

Chefs from around the world have been attracted to the state and have created many popular fusion restaurants that highlight the local and international flavors. (Some places have a reservation wait list so long, you have to predict sometimes months, or a year, in advance to figure out when you’ll be free. Yeah, I’m looking at youFrench Laundry)

And, finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention all the health food and the general acceptance of the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. Huzzah!

For those ready for a glass of wine, immigrants not only brought food influences, but also the beginnings of wine production in the state. In the 18th century, the Spanish brought the first grape vines and, well, the rest is history. Fast forward to the 21st century, and now California boasts over 90% of all wine production in the United States. Shall I also cite the 1976 blind taste test that vaulted California into the spotlight for producing decent wines to the Bottle Shock of France?

So, let’s get this California party started with a recipe from one of my most favorite vegan restaurants – Millennium in San Francisco. This recipe features many of the local ingredients found in California but specifically highlights the avocado. Avocados were introduced in California in 1871 by Judge R.B. Ord. (Yeah, that’s right, California history is so young that we even know the name of the guy that trotted across from Mexico with avocado trees and plopped them into Santa Barbara soil.) By the time the 1950’s rolled around there were almost 25 varieties of avocado being grown in the state.

This soup was divine – fresh, healthy and unique with the saffron-lime ice as an extra adornment. It went down smoothly on a warm spring day. It does make a lot (since there are only two of us in the house we had an enormous amount leftover). Note, avocado, by its nature, is very sensitive once it’s cut open so I wouldn’t sit on this soup for more than a day…or two.

To Make the Ice: Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and pour into a 2 inch deep pan. Freeze for 3-4 hours until solid.

To Make the Soup: Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over high heat. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeño. Dry toast, stirring frequently, for 7-10 minutes, until half the onions, garlic and jalapeño are charred. Remove from the pan and let cool to room temperature.

Peel and seed the jalapeño. Place the avocado in a mixing bowl with the cooled onion, garlic and jalapeño. Add the tomatillos, cucumber, cilantro, oregano, nutmeg, black pepper, lime juice, miso and water.

In a blender, or using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the ingredients in batches until smooth.

Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until well chilled.

To Serve: Ladle the soup into 6 martini glasses. Sprinkle toasted almonds over the top of each. Scrape the saffron ice crystals off the pan with a fork, and place 2 teaspoons on each serving of soup. Serve immediately.

As I’ve mentioned previously, part of my efforts here are to try to make new things. I have never made any sort of salsa before. Holy smokes, it’s easy! I’ll be making this green salsa more often or I’ll have to make more of it because it disappeared pretty fast.

Note: tomatillos are sticky once you take the wrapper off. Be sure to wash off the sticky before cutting

1 tbsp cilantro, chopped (omitted from this recipe due to household distaste for cilantro)

1 tsp oregano, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1 lime

Combine the tomatillos, tomatoes, red onion, garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, oregano, cumin, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Juice the lime into the mixture.

Pulse until the mixture is well-blended and all of the ingredients are roughly chopped.

I made two batches of the salsa, one with onions and one without. I put all the spices in the tomato mixture, split the tomato mixture in half. I only added onions to one half of the mixture. I’d also definitely double this recipe especially if serving more than two people with chips. As a sauce on burritos then the portion is just fine.